Jag baritone custom build - hardware problems!

[aa203]

Hi All!

First post, been browsing for a wee while but finally signed up!

I am in the middle of building a Jaguar Baritone Custom based off the plans from Australian Luthiers Supply. I am trying to track down all the bits and pieces i need to complete the build and have run into a complete brick wall with regards to the bridge and tail piece and was hoping for some help or advice.

The plans show a tune-o-matic style bridge with a string spacing of around 49-50mm (middle of e-E saddles) and the tailpiece (a hardtail on the baritone) measures the same. The bridge has at a guess a 10-15 degree angle on it to account. ( A thumbnail of the plans can be seen here https://luthiersupplies.com.au/baritone ... uitar-plan i hope i am allowed to link externally - i'm not affiliated in any way and not trying to advertise anything... ) I guess the production guitar used custom hardware?

Combine this with a 7.25 neck radius there doesn't seem to be much about that would work. It seems that most Jazzmasters/jaguar/mustang bridges have a string spacing of 55mm. If i could find a tailpiece that measures around 55mm then this should work but i haven't been able to locate anything, I have drawn out a few options but nothing seems to work well.

Has anyone done a jaguar baritone custom build and if so what did you use? Otherwise any suggestion on hardware that would likely work?

Thanks in advance,
a

[Horsefeather]

I haven't done one but I do plan to build a BassVI-like thing at some point and I'm probably going to use a Toronado bridge piece for it. If you're after a hardtail and you're doing an offset, the Toronado bridge is always a good choice, as its aesthetics really fit well.

[aa203]

Thanks for the speedy reply. I wasn't familiar with this bridge but I'm checking it out now and it looks like it could be promising. Do you know how much room for intonation there is? I suspect for the long scale big strings I may need quite a lot of adjustment space and am worried this could be problematic?

[Horsefeather]

There's plenty of space. The outside saddles lie inside the spacing of the two top screws that hold the bridge down so they aren't going to touch them if you move the high E saddle all the way to the front. Eyeballing a pic of the bridge online, it looks like you could get an entire saddle length of variance in the intonation from front to back if you pulled the spring on the short side and you certainly won't need that much.

Consider that Fender puts the same shape bridge on the Bronco Bass and it has a 30" scale length. It's a cheap two saddle design but the plate stamping is the same shape. I actually just intonated my Bronco and there's only about 1/2" difference in the position of the saddles.

[Synchro]

I had an OEM Baritone Custom. It was a great sounding instrument which could be used in either a bass or a baritone guitar role. The short scale made the low E a bit easy to bend sharp, but I could play it in tune if I was cautious. Experimenting with string gauges might be the answer to that problem.

The stop tailpiece, IMO, was a good thing and added to the sonic power of the instrument. As best I recall, it was a bit deeper in timbre than the two Bass VIs I’ve owned since. I loved the Jaguar controls and still think that the original Jaguar control set was one of the best ideas ever conceived for an electric guitar. I’m pretty certain that being able to operate a Jaguar flawlessly contributes to one’s practical exam for an Electrical Engineer’s Degree.

Best of luck with the build.